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San Juan County, N.M., is dry and scrubby, dotted with pump jacks, two coal-fired power plants and an oil refinery. Energy may be the area’s mainstay, but underlying this economy, is another informal one based on the selling and trading of old car parts. The county is a haven for junk cars – and for the guys who fix them up. Sierra Crane-Murdoch spends an afternoon with two junk connoisseurs, who spend their free time piecing together new vehicles from old ratty parts.

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It saddened me to hear the fictional conflict in my novel Junkyard Dreams has become a reality in San Juan County. Junkyards have long been a part of our western landscape. They take recycling to heart and make it into art!!